Statham plays Arthur, a cool, world-class professional assassin who prides himself on doing what he calls “assignments” without leaving a trace — as we see in a skillfully staged opening sequence.

Arthur’s approach is exactly the opposite of Foster’s Steven — the hot-headed, messy, ne’er-do-well son of Arthur’s recently deceased mentor — who the killer has decided to take on as his apprentice.

What the classical-music-loving Arthur doesn’t mention to Steven is that Arthur rubbed out Dad (Donald Sutherland) at the behest of Dad’s business partner (Danny Goldwyn).

Steven is fascinated with Arthur’s lifestyle, and working with Steven provides Arthur the sort of human contact he’s obviously long avoided.

Though it’s clear this twisted father-and-son-type relationship is going to end badly, there is suspense in how it will play out.

Under the direction of Simon West (“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”), the New Orleans-set action — the boys’ targets include a Colombian drug lord and a large, gay hit man — moves so briskly that it makes most contemporary action films look positively pokey.

The script, co-credited to Oscar nominee Lewis John Carlino, is full of clever twists and smart one-liners.

At one point, Goldwyn’s character warns Arthur: “I’m gonna put a price on your head so big that when you look in the mirror, your reflection’s gonna want to shoot you in the face.”

Statham and Foster have great chemistry bordering on the homoerotic — they certainly seem to enjoy each other’s company more than the scantily clad women their characters have sex with from time to time.

They’re a huge improvement on Bronson, who tended to walk through many of his films like a zombie, and Vincent, whose laid-back surfer-dude persona is far less interesting than the tightly coiled, unpredictable Foster.

“The Mechanic” is by far the best film so far from the latest incarnation of CBS Theatrical Films, which has brought us such losers as “Extraordinary Measures,” “The Back-Up Plan” and “Faster.”